'U2 3D' HD: Behind the Lens Page 2

Were they particular about which shots you used of each of them? Yeah. They're their own best critics. They were very involved in postproduction, especially in the shot sign-off and performance sign-off. We lost quite a few songs. We recorded 26 altogether, and we have 13 in the show. Certain songs just didn't make it because of the performances. Certain ones that were just sort of borderline great, the band would say, "That's not good enough. We're not performing to our top power there." That I think is what makes them the band they are. They're no-compromise people. Bono has a good line: "If I believe these four guys, then it's good. But if I don't believe them or everybody else doesn't believe them, then the song doesn't make it."

This film was shot in HD. What are the advantages? We edited in standard def then transferred it to HD and 3-D. Basically it's like looking at something through foggy glasses, then you clean them. HD is lovely and the 3-D is a nice expansion of HD. Now people are used to looking at HD, so it helps with the transition to 3-D.

Has the audience been accepting of the technology? Certainly our reviews are phenomenal. It's unbelievable. You couldn't pay people to say the things they've been saying. The [box office] numbers are really fantastic. It's in IMAX in limited release until February 15, when it goes to a wider digital release.

What about the 5.1 surround sound? The team that worked on this worked to create a 360-degree musical experience. The audio is a good reflection of the visual experience. I think that adds to the success of this particular film.

Seeing a concert movie is obviously a different experience from seeing an actual concert. In the movie theater, you can't really dance, drink a beer, etc. Were you worried that those restrictions would diminish the experience? Well, you know, we're not afraid of people getting up in the seats. We're encouraging that idea. But we weren't really worried. The funny thing is, when you have your glasses on - new kind of 3-D glasses that aren't bulky; they're almost like groovy Ray Bans - I say it's a little bit like virtual reality. I think this film is the best example of what virtual reality might feel like. You really do get lost in the moment. Because it's performance only, you never really leave the film. There doesn't come a moment when you think, Oh, I really need to go have a Coca-Cola or get a hot dog.

Can this 3-D technology be translated to home theater? Yeah. We've tested it for the home TV. We looked at it on a Samsung that's HD enabled. It is phenomenal. It's so insane. The reason we did that was because we did some 3-D reviews in Ireland, and there was no 3-D cinemas in Dublin. So we brought over the TV, set it up in the band's recording studio and watched the film in 3-D for review. To see that is pretty phenomenal.

Right now, we're playing the film off a hard drive. But the company who developed the technology and the cameras, 3ality Digital - the reason they got involved in all this was to have 3-D for sporting events. They want to have audiences be able to watch live sporting events in 3-D on their TVs [glasses would be required]. That's probably three to five years away.